Microsoft is recycling email accounts, in case you haven't used yours lately..

If you've got a long-dormant Hotmail, Live, or Outlook.com account, you might consider checking in every so often. Microsoft is recycling old and unused accounts and if you've let yours languish for a while, you might have lost yours too. 

According to reports via PCWorld, Microsoft has been enacting a policy they've had in place for years. In fact, the Microsoft Services Agreement itself mentions that you should log in at a minimum of every 270 days, to "keep the Microsoft branded services portion of the services active," or else your data may be deleted, with your access revoked. 

The agreement does not mention the recycling of usernames, but the company has said that this is actually part of their policy. After your account goes inactive, it's set up for deletion. Then, after 360 days, it's made available again. This is causing some alarm amongst users concerned for breaches of their privacy, which is of course understandable -- but it appears the practice is just now being brought to life. 

It's in stark contrast to companies like Google, who upon deletion of email addresses will not allow that username to be put into circulation once more. Are you an Outlook, Hotmail, or Live user? What do you think about these practices?